The application of clumped isotope thermometry to the terrestrial environment. Clumped-isotope geochemistry, a novel method for measuring the temperature of formation of carbonate minerals, will be applied to terrestrial materials (soil carbonates, lake deposits and speleothems) from Australia and New Zealand. The method relates the abundance or 'clumping' of rare isotopes (for example, carbon dioxide of mass 47 as carbon-13, oxygen-18, oxygen-16) extracted from carbonates to their formation tem ....The application of clumped isotope thermometry to the terrestrial environment. Clumped-isotope geochemistry, a novel method for measuring the temperature of formation of carbonate minerals, will be applied to terrestrial materials (soil carbonates, lake deposits and speleothems) from Australia and New Zealand. The method relates the abundance or 'clumping' of rare isotopes (for example, carbon dioxide of mass 47 as carbon-13, oxygen-18, oxygen-16) extracted from carbonates to their formation temperature and is independent of the oxygen-18:oxygen-16 value of the host water from which the mineral precipitated. The materials to be investigated span the Last Glacial-Interglacial Transition and will provide robust past temperature estimates and the delta-oxygen-18 values of waters, thereby permitting hydrological balances (for example, precipitation/evaporation) to be constructed. Read moreRead less
Linkage Infrastructure, Equipment And Facilities - Grant ID: LE120100054
Funder
Australian Research Council
Funding Amount
$420,000.00
Summary
Stable isotope analysis of environmental and physiological samples. Mass spectrometers capable of isotope analysis are essential tools for the earth and environmental sciences, physiology and palaeoecology. This project will provide mass spectrometers for both laboratory and field conditions which will ensure Australia remains at the forefront of international research, attract collaborations and lead to outcomes of global significance.
Were abrupt changes in the Precambrian global carbon cycle the trigger for animal appearance and radiation on Earth? The origin of complex life and the properties that allow that life to be sustained on this planet are recorded within the geologic record. This project will reveal the role that severe perturbations of the global carbon cycle and climate had in triggering the step-wise change to animal life after billions of years of only single cell organisms.